The council chamber was silent. Forty-three beings from forty-three different histories stared at the space where the message had been. The crystalline structure outside waited, a moon-sized question hanging in the sky.
Prince Matthias was the first to speak. His voice was steady. He was a man used to impossible choices.
"So, that's it then. Stay here and stagnate, or step into another war we know nothing about."
"It did not say war," Serian countered. "It said 'the larger game'."
"Princess, when has a game run by cosmic entities ever been anything but war?"
The Void Wraith representative shimmered. Its form was a column of living shadow, and its voice was the sound of rustling dust. "We chose this reality for its stability. Relative stability. The promise was survival, not endless trials."
